


I'll See You When I See You

by queenofhunter93



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Psychologist Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Psychologist Kim Junmyeon | Suho, Psychologist Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Psychologist Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24507484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenofhunter93/pseuds/queenofhunter93
Summary: Junmyeon and Yifan were in a pretty complicated relationship
Relationships: Implied Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Oh Sehun/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from my livejournal account. I wrote this when I was still pursuing my psychology degree, so I had no idea what it's like to work as a clinical psychologist in a hospital or a forensic psychologist. I still don't, actually, so... yeah, feel free to correct me if you see weird things.

“Hi.”

“What are you doing still up?

“I need to finish my Rorschach report tonight so I can e-mail it to the lab by tomorrow morning, and then I have some paper to finish, and…”

“Whoa, slow down baby, I just got up.”

“I’m shocked you’re even up now. Isn’t it, like, 8 AM there now?”

“8.30, yeah, but you know I’ll never miss a Skype session with you.”

“Enough about me, how about you? How’s work?”

“It’s great. Get this. My aunt finally gave up and included me in the gay bashing case.”

“Yifan, that’s incredible. Finally you’ll stop nagging to me about it.”

“Shut up, I don’t nag that much. You nag to me about incompetent lab assistants all the time.”

“Yet you never complain about it.”

“So do you.”

“…”

“…”

“…I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too, Junmyeon-ah.”

“When are you visiting me?”

“You know it’s not that easy. Not with the new case I just received.”

“I know, I’m being stupid.”

“No you’re not. I get it. I wanna see you too.”

“Soon, right?”

“Yeah… soon…”

***

Kim Junmyeon and Wu Yifan had been dating since Yifan graduated college. When Yifan first told Junmyeon how he felt about the shorter man, Junmyeon couldn’t say that he had it coming. They met each other when Junmyeon was voted the student body president, and Yifan was a former student body president, two years ahead of Junmyeon, and acting as Junmyeon’s “advisor,” so to speak. Both of them were pursuing their psychology degrees.

At first, their relationship was either strictly business or strictly sunbae-hoobae. But even after the year when Junmyeon was set to step down from his presidency, their relationship didn’t stop right there. They asked each other multiple times to be each other’s research subjects for various courses, or Junmyeon would ask Yifan for help when he was stuck doing his reports or assignments.

Most of Junmyeon’s friends envied him. Wu Yifan was not just any guy. He was tall, handsome, rich, and very, _very_ smart – most of the professors love him and he was said to be one of the rare people who could get a psychology degree within four years. Junmyeon knew all those traits first-hand. Junmyeon found himself understanding subjects much better when Yifan was explaining it to him, and Yifan took him to study in various dining places, where most of the time, Yifan was the one who did the paying.

The tall one? Well, let’s not get there. At first Junmyeon was a little bit irritated by it, but now, he thought Yifan had the perfect height to put his arms around Junmyeon’s shoulders without slouching or lifting his arm too high. But that was Junmyeon’s biased opinion.

Because Junmyeon was damn sure he was already half in love with Yifan the second he laid his eyes on the tall man. Despite the seemingly permanent bitch face, Yifan had a heart of gold. He had a lot of friends, some of them are real, some of them were only after either his money or his brains, and he had a lot of suitors. It was not a rare sight to see girls from every grade and every faculty swooning over the Chinese-Canadian man.

Not to say that Junmyeon didn’t have suitors of his own. Even before he was actively involved in campus politics, he was already very famous for being “the second coming of Wu Yifan” or “the slightly shorter version of Wu Yifan”, or even “Korean version of Wu Yifan” because of his perfect GPA on the first semester. Imagine the reaction from their fangirls and fanboys when Junmyeon and Yifan started hanging out together everywhere. Yes, Junmyeon and Yifan were well aware of the existence of people who “shipped” them together.

The turning point from half in love to in love for Junmyeon was when Yifan started talking to him about how strict his parents were. Yifan’s father was a doctor, and his mother was a nutritionist, and they both wanted Yifan in the medical industry as well. The Wu family also owned a hospital in Seoul, with a spot readied for Yifan. Yifan chose psychology over psychiatry because he could finish college faster. The problem was, Yifan had no interest in clinical psychology and chose to apply for a master’s degree in forensic psychology in Canada, which he already got accepted in with full scholarship. Cue angry parents.

“I envy you,” he said to Junmyeon once.

“Why?” Junmyeon asked him.

“Your parents let you choose anything you want to learn without pushing you to go here, or go there…”

“You’ve got it all wrong, hyung.”

“Why is that?”

“I never wanted to go to college.”

“What? But you’re really smart!”

“I had this all planned out back in high school. I’d graduate, get a job, and find some place to live with my two brothers. But they told me to go to college if I ever want to see Jongdae and Jongin again.”

“…what?”

“My parents are divorced, hyung. My dad took Jongin with him and my mom took Jongdae. I technically am under my mom’s custody, but I chose to leave and live with a couple of friends in a rented house nearby. They told me to go to college or they would never let Jongdae and Jongin see me again. Which is ridiculous, because they’re actually old enough to make decisions on their own.”

“…”

“I can’t stand that house. Sure, it’s the place where I grew up in, but… it hasn’t been a ‘home’ for a long time now. It’s just a reminder of the things that I’ve lost, of the things that I’ll never get back. That house… was poisonous, really. I wouldn’t care if I’m the only one poisoned, but Jongdae and Jongin deserved better than that.”

“I’m sorry…”

Junmyeon smiled at his sunbae, “Don’t worry, hyung, I’m over it.”

“No, I must’ve sounded like a brat, nagging to you about my parents like that. You’re really mature, Junmyeon-ah. And you’re two years my junior!”

Junmyeon chuckled. That was the first time he saw Yifan in a different light.

Junmyeon held no expectations whatsoever. He didn’t expect his feelings to be accepted and he and Yifan would live happily ever after or anything like that, but he wouldn’t mind if that actually happened.

So it came as a surprise when Yifan confessed to Junmyeon that the taller male had more than platonic feelings for Junmyeon since they first met on Yifan’s graduation day. After kissing him.

Naturally, Junmyeon came to Yifan’s graduation day. Yifan didn’t even have to invite him to come and he saw Junmyeon outside the auditorium, holding a small bouquet of yellow and red roses, smiling at him. Junmyeon had his arms open, ready to hug his senior in pride, since he succeeded in getting his bachelor degree in four years. What he got was more than just a hug.

As he wrapped his arms around Yifan’s neck, he felt Yifan’s arms around his waist and a pair of lips upon his own. His eyes widened as he saw Yifan’s closed ones much closer than he was used to. But he succumbed to the kiss and closed his eyes as he kissed back.

“Sorry,” Yifan said after he pulled away.

“Don’t be,” Junmyeon said breathlessly as he pulled his arms away from Yifan, “but maybe you should apologize to the crowd around us though; you’re making quite a scene,” Junmyeon said as he handed over the bouquet with a small, shy smile, “congratulations.”

Yifan looked at the bouquet of yellow and red roses, and plucked a stem of thornless red rose and slipped it behind Junmyeon’s ear.

“You know, yellow rose means ‘friendship’. When it’s combined with red rose, it means ‘congratulations’. But do you know what red rose means, Junmyeon-ah?”

Junmyeon blushed, “I… I love you?”

Yifan grinned, “Do you know what a _thornless_ red rose means?”

Junmyeon frowned. _What difference did it make anyway?_

“It means ‘love at first sight,’” Yifan said as he kissed Junmyeon’s forehead, “I love you, Kim Junmyeon, from the very first time I saw you. I wouldn’t expect you to want to accept me, but if you do, I would be most grateful.”

Junmyeon looked down and shook his head as he chuckled quietly to himself. When he looked up, Yifan’s face was crestfallen.

“No! No, not no, but… oh god, this is confusing. I mean…” Junmyeon cleared his throat, and said firmly, “I love you too, hyung.”

Yifan smiled, “Do you mind waiting, though?”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to Canada to live with my aunt and get my master’s degree. Maybe even work there for a while. Do you mind waiting for me?”

“…I don’t. But even though I’m waiting right here… that doesn’t mean that you’re not my boyfriend, right?”

That was when Kim Junmyeon and Wu Yifan became a couple.

Of course, like any other relationship, their relationship was not one without problems. Especially when they were in a long – _very_ long – distance relationship. Junmyeon grew tired of waiting one time or another, but eventually they developed a Skype schedule every Saturday or Sunday, since they both were usually free on that day and they could work the 16 hours time difference out. There were multiple times where Junmyeon felt very insecure about himself and accused Yifan of cheating, or vice versa, but in the end, everything was sorted out. Especially since Sehun, Yifan’s younger brother, acted as Junmyeon’s caretaker under Yifan’s request.

The only problem they had been facing since they started dating was Yifan’s mother.

The only thing Junmyeon and Yifan’s mother could agree on was that Yifan deserved the best. And in Yifan’s mother’s eyes, Junmyeon was not the best.

There were a lot of things Yifan’s mother complained about Junmyeon after they met each other. First off, Junmyeon was male, therefore, could not bear children and “continue the Wu bloodline” or something like that. Secondly, Junmyeon was too young for her taste. And lastly, she couldn’t see Junmyeon succeeding in psychology. Why? Junmyeon’s pride was already hurt too much to even want to know the reason why.

Yifan’s mother was the person who pushed Junmyeon to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology, so to speak. He was going to prove his worth to the woman who gave birth to someone he love very much, both as a thank you gift and as a huge slap on the face to say that he could be the best for Yifan.

Junmyeon and Yifan graduated together, two years after Yifan went to Vancouver, making Junmyeon a member of the rare people who managed to snag a bachelor’s degree in psychology within four years. It was bittersweet, because as much as Junmyeon and Yifan wanted to be together on each other’s graduation day, the situation was not very ideal, since their graduation dates were close.

But Yifan was there when Junmyeon moved out of his rented house, helping him pack up alongside Jongin, Jongdae and Sehun, with Jongdae moving into the rented house since he was entering the same college Junmyeon had just graduated from. Yifan was there on his first day as a student pursuing his master’s degree in clinical psychology.

“You do know that you don’t have to do this, right? Clinical psychology’s a little bit tough.”

“Forensic psychology seemed tougher but you managed to finish it, right? If you can do something tougher than this, then I think I can get through this.”

“I believe in you. But I don’t see why you feel the need to prove yourself to my mother.”

“You’re worth it, Yifan.”

***

“…you should get some sleep.”

“Okay, but… just a little bit more.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“What, I can’t get some more time to talk with my boyfriend?”

“It’s not that…”

“I’m just kidding. I haven’t finished the interpretation yet.”

“You’re the genius with Rorschach, Junmyeon. I even asked your help when I need my client’s Rorschach interpreted.”

“I know, I’m a freaking wizard. Aaaaaand done. I’ll just e-mail this now and you’ll have my full attention.”

“No, I don’t need your full attention. Well, I do, but Junmyeon-ah, you need some sleep. I can even see your eye-bags through the camera. Please sleep, love.”

“…but I miss you… you’ve been so busy lately – apparently because you got a new client – and I need to finish my thesis soon…”

“I know, I miss you too, but I need you alive and well until we can finally meet again. So get some sleep, we’ll talk again when you’re awake.”

“…fine. Good night, Yifan. I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Good night, Junmyeon, I’ll see you when I see you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

***

To be honest, Junmyeon didn’t have a plan that he absolutely needed to follow right after he graduated. All he knew was that he was going to get a practice license and prove himself to Yifan’s mother that he was good enough for Yifan.

Another thing that he knew was that he was never leaving Seoul unless both of his younger brothers came with him, and that was not possible in the near future because Jongin had just received a full scholarship to attend a dance department in a very prestigious college in Seoul. Jongdae could come along with him anywhere, since Jongdae was a programmer who could work pretty much anywhere, but Junmyeon wouldn’t let Jongdae and his boyfriend Baekhyun go through a long distance relationship like he did, if he could prevent it. And it was not possible for Baekhyun to come along, not when Baekhyun was his family’s backbone.

So he decided to go big, or go home.

“Excuse me?” Yifan asked him on one of their Skype days.

“You heard me.”

“Are you seriously going to apply for a job in _my mother’s hospital_? Junmyeon, have you gone crazy?”

“I’m serious! Working in your family’s hospital is the boldest move I could think of to actually make your mother see what I’m made of.”

“…why are you doing this, Junmyeon?”

“I just need your mother’s approval, Yifan. Your father was fine with me being in a relationship with you, but not your mother. I just want her to know that I am very serious with you.”

“…I’m going to marry you one day, Junmyeon-ah, with or without my mother’s consent.”

Junmyeon looked at Yifan on his monitor. Sure, Yifan had said this multiple times, but he never said it with such a serious face.

“…please don’t. One of the reasons why my parents got divorced was because they didn’t have my grandmother’s consent and my father was a freaking mama’s boy who ‘finally realized that mother was right all along,’” Junmyeon said with air-quotes, “I just don’t want to relive my parents’ mistake.”

“I understand. I’ll also try my hardest to get mother to accept you, Junmyeon-ah. I seriously want to marry you one day.”

“So please, Yifan. Let me do my thing while you do yours.”

“…fine.”

And that was how Junmyeon applied for a position as a psychologist in Wu family’s hospital a couple of months after receiving his practice license and master’s degree. It was almost dream-like how he was accepted only two days after he applied.

“It’s a little bit weird, I mean, no offense, love, but my mother usually looked over the application herself, and she usually takes about three to four days, possibly a week to get back to the applicant.”

“I thought it was weird too. I mean, I do know that your mother doesn’t like me very much, so why would she accept me so quickly?”

“I never really understood lǎo mā’s line of thought, so your guess is as good as mine.”

***

Before he knew it, it was already the first day of work. Junmyeon walked towards the psychology department and met the Department Head, Zhang Yixing, who was actually Yifan’s old friend from China, and a child psychologist, Do Kyungsoo. Strangely enough, for quite a big hospital, Wu Hospital only has three psychologists with Junmyeon’s employment. But considering it was a new department in the hospital, Junmyeon supposed it was normal.

Junmyeon was expecting things to go slowly since he was new, but no. He already got three clients at once: a teenage girl with anorexia nervosa, a man with bipolar disorder, and an ex-soldier with PTSD. And it was only his first day. The day was filled with interviews, appointments for a possible follow-up interview or start of a treatment, and Junmyeon starting to brainstorm about what treatment was possible to help his clients. It was definitely more stressful than his college days.

But he was enjoying it _so much_.

Perhaps he had his parents to thank. If his parents didn’t threaten him into applying for college, the great things that happened in his life would not have happen. He wouldn’t have been able to meet Yifan; he wouldn’t have find out that he was actually capable of helping people out.

“So how do you like your new job?” Kyungsoo asked him on dinner – yes, dinner. Junmyeon missed his lunch because he was way too focused on interviewing the ex-soldier.

“Well… it’s different from college. It’s a lot more stressful, but I actually like the rush.”

“How many clients do you have today?”

“Three,” Junmyeon could see Kyungsoo’s big eyes got even bigger as his eyes widened in shock.

“ _Three_? That’s a lot for a newcomer. Just remember not to overwork, Junmyeon-sshi, because that’s seems to be the first wrong thing a new employee does.”

_Too late_ , Junmyeon thought. Junmyeon was the type of person to get lost in his work that he forgot that there was another world outside of his own. Yifan was the one who reminded him of it. Junmyeon guessed that it was one of his fatal flaws that Yifan could counter. It was easier to remind Junmyeon when Yifan was less busy or close by, but it was almost impossible, with both of them very busy and in different sides of the world.

But thank God for Sehun.

Junmyeon couldn’t help but smile as he saw his boyfriend’s brother with a car in front of the hospital.

“Sehun-ah, what are you doing here?”

“Yifan-gē told me to pick you up,” Sehun said, “he also told me to ask you if you’ve eaten yet.”

“Well, you can tell your Yifan-gē that I have actually eaten dinner… but I think I missed lunch, you can’t tell him that.”

Sehun actually looked exasperated, “Hyung…”

“I know, I know. You’re seriously your gēgē’s brother,” Junmyeon said. Sehun then suddenly looked kind of hazy, so Junmyeon followed his line of sight, which was behind him, and he was very tempted to tease Sehun about it.

Yixing had just stepped out of the hospital.

From what Junmyeon knew and heard, Sehun had been single for all of his life, and never found anyone whom he liked. When Junmyeon asked him what his type was like, he always said that he didn’t know.

Junmyeon guessed he knew now. Sehun’s type was Zhang Yixing.

“Oh, Junmyeon-sshi! Great work today,” Yixing said as he smiled at Junmyeon.

“Great work today, Yixing-sshi,” Junmyeon said as he smiled back. He gestured for Sehun to come closer, and the younger obliged, “Yixing-sshi, this is…”

“Oh Sehun. We’ve met,” Yixing said quickly, “Hi, Sehun-ah.”

“Hi, Yixing-gē…” Junmyeon couldn’t believe his eyes. Sehun was actually blushing!

“It’s been a while since I saw you around the hospital, what are you doing here?”

“I, uh… I’m picking up Junmyeon-hyung.”

“…oh.”

“He-he’s-!”

“I really need to get home now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Junmyeon-sshi. Bye, Sehun-ah.”

“Huh? O-okay, see you tomorrow, Yixing-sshi…” Junmyeon said as he waved at Yixing who walked really quickly towards the bus stop, “…you, young man, have some explaining to do.”

Sehun sighed, “Yixing-gē is my ex-boyfriend.”

“WHAT?!”

“Hyung! This is a hospital!”

“Oh, sorry. But…”

“Yeah, it was a couple of years ago. He was getting his bachelor’s degree and I had just started high school. We knew each other back in China. We broke up because… well, because of lǎo mā, really.”

“…so she acted like that around pretty much everyone who was trying to get close to her sons, then?”

“She did that to you too, hyung?” Junmyeon only nodded at that. Sehun sighed, “I’m really sorry, hyung… but I’m really glad that Yifan-gē decided to fight for you. I was way too young to understand, but I really regret not fighting for Yixing-gē.”

“…so fight for him, then. What’s stopping you?”

“Maybe the fact that lǎo mā has decided on a bride for both Yifan-gē and I each?”

“…what?”

That was the first time Junmyeon had ever heard about anything like that. Yifan had never told him that. So apparently that was why Yifan’s mother was dead set on not having Junmyeon as her future son-in-law.

“Ah… maybe you should ask Yifan-gē yourself about this, hyung. You deserve the explanation to come from Yifan-gē’s mouth, at least.”

But Junmyeon never got that explanation from Yifan.

Junmyeon’s new work and bad habit of leaving out rest and eat was really taking its toll on his health and relationship with Yifan. Junmyeon missed two weeks of their Skype date and it seemed that he was seeing more offline messages from Yifan than Yifan’s face on his Skype account. Junmyeon felt more familiar with his client’s files than Yifan’s text messages. There was no Yifan telling him not to overwork himself, so the knowledge of Junmyeon working while he was sleep-deprived with an empty stomach was a familiar one for Yixing and Kyungsoo.

But not for Yifan, who came for a visit about a month after Junmyeon started working. Needless to say, both of them were shocked to see each other.

“Junmyeon-ah?”

Junmyeon desperately wanted to smile at his almost estranged boyfriend, but he couldn’t find the strength to. He could only lift an arm and wave before everything went black.

***

“…ridiculous… lǎo mā… overworking him!”

“…shouldn’t care about him… think about your future wife!”

Junmyeon woke up to his boyfriend’s angry voice arguing with a woman. He only heard bits and pieces of it, but he could get the gist of it. He knew that he had been overworking himself, throwing himself into trying to find right treatments for his variety of clients, missing multiple meals and hours of sleep over it. It was only a matter of time until he lost his consciousness.

“…Fan…”

Yifan turned his angry gaze from his mother towards his boyfriend. His face softened just a little bit, but he still looked angry.

“What the hell were you thinking? Don’t you know how worried I was when you missed not one, but four of our Skype date?”

“I’m sorry… I got three clients at the moment, and I’m not even halfway done with them, I have no time…”

“Not even to eat and sleep? I don’t care if you miss our Skype date, but I care when you miss meals and sleep time, especially when you’re already lying on a freaking hospital bed!”

Junmyeon could only shut his mouth.

“Lǎo mā,” Yifan called his mother, “I hope you have nothing to do with this.”

“Yifan,” Yifan’s mother started, “I don’t need to sugarcoat it for you two anymore,” she said as she stood right at the end of Junmyeon’s bed, “Kim Junmyeon is nowhere near in my plan for you, Yifan. My children being in love with men is never in my plan for you nor for Shixun.”

“Why can’t me being in love, period, be in your plan for me, lǎo mā?”

“Yifan. We are not going through this again. You are going to marry Liyin, and that is _final_.”

Yifan’s mother ended it at that and left the room.

“I’m sorry you have to be here for that, Junmyeon-ah…”

“It’s okay. I… heard from Sehun that both of you have brides fixed for each of you since forever, but… I needed to hear it from your mouth.”

“…I’m sorry I’ve never said anything to you. It’s always been in the back of my mind, nagging me to tell you, but whenever I’m with you…” Yifan moved to lay beside Junmyeon, laying on his side with his left arm holding his head up as he looked down fondly at Junmyeon, “I forget about it. I have no bride to marry, because the only person I’m going to marry is you.”

“…who is the person you’re supposed to marry?”

“Are you sure you want to hear it?” Yifan asked as he ran his right hand through Junmyeon’s hair. Junmyeon nodded, “Her name is Zhang Liyin – you must know her younger brother, Zhang Yixing; he’s the head of psychology department – and she’s a dentist here. She’s… nice. And she’s really great with what she does.”

“She must be, if she has Yixing-sshi as her brother. He’s a freaking angel,” Junmyeon said with a small smile, “What about Sehun’s?”

“Kwon Boa. She’s a physiotherapist here, one of the best, and definitely the prettiest because she’s the only female physiotherapist in the hospital. That’s pretty much all I know about her.”

“…what’s going to happen with us, Yifan? I don’t want us to end up like Yixing and Sehun…”

“You’ve heard about them, huh? But Junmyeon… trust me. Sehun broke up with Yixing because he didn’t know any better. He was way too young, both to fall in love and to understand the arranged marriage. And I know how much he died inside because of it. I am not going to let us go that way,” Yifan said as he leaned down to kiss Junmyeon’s forehead, “When I said I’m going to marry you…” Yifan moved down to Junmyeon’s nose, “I was serious,” Yifan finished off with a long kiss on Junmyeon’s lips.

Junmyeon kissed back with all the energy he had left, which was not very much. He kissed Yifan as if he was going to lose the other man the second he opened his eyes. But thankfully, the other man was still there when they pulled away.

“We’re getting married Junmyeon. One way or another.”

***

Unfortunately, Yifan couldn’t stay for too long because he had to attend the hearing of the gay bashing case back in Vancouver. He wasn’t in Seoul when Junmyeon got discharged. After the doctor deemed him ready to go back to work, the first thing Junmyeon did was enter Yixing’s office.

“Yixing-seonsaengnim, do you have time?” he asked at the door.

“One second…” Yixing said as he continued typing in his computer. He dramatically pressed one last button and turned to look at Junmyeon with his signature dimpled smile, “I do now. Come in, Junmyeon-seonsaengnim.”

Junmyeon obliged and sat on the chair in front of Yixing’s desk, “Look, Yixing-sshi…” Junmyeon started, “…about that night with Sehun. I think you’ve got it all wrong.”

“And why is that?” at this point, Yixing had lost his smile.

“Tell me if I’m wrong, but I think you think that we’re dating.”

“…you’re not wrong, go on.”

“And we’re not. Sehun is my boyfriend’s brother.”

“…oh,” Junmyeon could see the small smile starting to appear on Yixing’s mouth.

“And from your reaction back then, I can tell for sure that you’re still very much in love with him,” Junmyeon said with a soft smile. Yixing looked down to his lap. Junmyeon sighed, “Look, I think I’m going through what you went through with Sehun. Both of us got held up by Mrs. Wu, but the difference is that Sehun broke up with you, but Yifan didn’t. And I would like to explain Sehun’s behavior on his behalf.”

“…you don’t have to. I know why he did that,” Yixing said softly.

“Why do you think he did that?”

“Because he loves his mother more than he loves me?” Yixing said as his eyes glistened with tears.

“No, not that,” Junmyeon said as he moved beside Yixing without even thinking about it, “Well, yes, I think he does love his mother, but you have to realize that he was too young to make big decisions like that. And I know for a fact that he regretted letting you go.”

Yixing wiped the tears that had started cascading down his face, “What should I do, then?”

“Sehun’s picking me up tonight. I was thinking about asking my brother Jongin to pick me up instead. How about I leave you guys to talk later?”

“…okay.”

Junmyeon smiled at the other man, patted his back, and left the room. He texted Jongin and asked him to pick him up from the hospital at midnight.

He couldn’t wait for the day to end.

But by the end of the day, Junmyeon was wrecked. Thanks to Sehun’s texts, he didn’t miss any meal today, and he managed to finish brainstorming for treatments for each of his clients, but the nail on the head today was the increase in clients. He wasn’t even halfway finished with his first batch of clients, but he was already assigned another four clients with completely different symptoms each. He was shocked that he could get through all the consultations and managed to have time to go home at all.

“Good work today, Junmyeon-sshi,” Yixing said as he tapped Junmyeon’s shoulder, “Long day?”

“Good work today, Yixing-sshi. Quite a long day, yes,” said Junmyeon with a small, tired smile.

“Well, you better rest up. You won’t be making a pretty good impression to your clients with eye bags,” Yixing said, “Don’t give up on us, okay? There were two other psychologists who came before you, and they couldn’t handle the pressure, so they left. Only Kyungsoo and I remain.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. It’s tough, yes, but I’m enjoying it so much,” Junmyeon said with a small smile, earning him one from Yixing.

They walked out of the hospital together, and as promised, Sehun was already waiting there with his car. Junmyeon smiled and gave a little push to Yixing towards Sehun, and walked away from them.

“H-hyung? Where are you going?” Sehun asked as he tried not to make eye contact with Yixing.

“Oh, sorry, Sehun-ah, I’m going home with Jongin today. Why don’t you take Yixing-sshi home?” Junmyeon asked cheekily as he walked away towards a car that was waiting for him at the end of the street.

“Oh, there you are, hyung,” Jongin said as Junmyeon came into his view, “Why did you suddenly called me to pick you up? Didn’t Sehun usually do that?”

“Sehun has someone more important to take home today,” Junmyeon said with a smile. Suddenly he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned back, the figure who tapped him was speed walking towards a bus stop, “Ah, Kyungsoo-sshi, great work today!”

“Great work today, Junmyeon-sshi, I’ll see you tomorrow!” Kyungsoo said with the heart-shaped smile of his that lit up under the streetlight. He then stopped a taxi and entered it. Junmyeon looked back towards Jongin and smirked at his gaping brother.

“ _So cute…_ ” At that small whisper coming out of his brother’s lips, Junmyeon was already thinking about how to get Jongin and Kyungsoo together.

***

_Damn you, Junmyeon-hyung._ Sehun cursed as his brother’s boyfriend left him alone with his ex. He really didn’t know what to do. Sehun had prepared this speech for a long time, about how he never stopped loving Yixing, how he wanted him back, regardless of his mother, and he had planned to deliver it if and when he was ready. He was _not_ ready at that time. But then again, he didn’t know when he would be ready.

He shook out of his daydream to look at the other man in front of him who was fiddling with the thread at the edge of his shirt. This nervous habit brought a small smile to Sehun’s face.

_You never change, gē._ Sehun thought.

“Get in the car, gē, I’ll take you home,” he said as he walked into the car. Yixing was still for a moment, but he obliged. He walked towards the passenger seat door, and entered the car. He put his seat belt on and looked down to his lap, fiddling with the thread yet again.

“Your shirt’s gonna get ruined if you do that, gē,” Sehun said. Yixing stopped at that, but he still didn’t look up at Sehun.

The car ride was silent. Sehun desperately wanted to say something, but he was sure Yixing wouldn’t respond to him. When Yixing was nervous, he would either be very talkative or he would be very silent – Yixing usually showed the latter habit in front of Sehun. Sehun didn’t need to ask where they were going. Sehun still remembered the way to Yixing’s house like the back of his hand. By the time they arrived, it was already half past midnight.

Sehun killed the ignition and sat there silently, waiting for Yixing to say something, or get out of his car. He did neither. Sehun heaved a sigh.

“Xing-gē…” Sehun called out the other man softly by Sehun’s favorite nickname for the other man. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Yixing flinching at the name. Sehun considered giving Yixing the speech he had prepared since they broke up, but he decided to wing it. Before he knew it, perfect Mandarin flowed out of his mouth.

“I don’t know how else to say this, but… I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you that time, I’m sorry I was too young to understand. You are the best thing that has ever happened in my life and I ruined it because I was still so stupid and immature. But Yifan-gē and Junmyeon-hyung opened my eyes, and now I know better,” Sehun took a breath, “I know now that I can defy lǎo mā. I know now that lǎo mā’s words are not law. I know now, and I’ve known all this time that I am so, very much in love with you, Zhang Yixing, and I don’t care what lǎo mā says. If you would take me back, I will defend you, tooth and nail, in front of lǎo mā, and I will marry you one day.”

Sehun waited with bated breath for Yixing to reply to his sincere confession and apology. Just now he noticed that even though he tried his hardest to maintain eye contact with the older man, Yixing would not meet his eyes. And now, Yixing was looking down to his lap, tears dropping bit by bit onto his pants. Sehun’s heart clenched.

“You don’t know…” Yixing started in Mandarin, with shaky breath, “…how long I’ve waited for you to say that, Shixun….”

Sehun could feel a smile starting to bloom on his face. He cautiously took Yixing’s hand in his, and grinned when the other man intertwined their fingers and squeezed his hand.

“I still love you, no matter how stupid or immature you are,” Yixing said with a shaky smile, “And I forgive you.”

Sehun couldn’t contain his happiness. He lunged at Yixing with all his might, but the kiss that landed on Yixing’s lips was soft and careful, as if he was afraid Yixing would reject him. Yixing did the complete opposite. He felt his lips being kissed back and his left cheek being cupped by Yixing’s free hand. When he pulled away, he instinctively kissed Yixing’s dimple the second he saw the other man was smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

After three long months, Junmyeon was finally finished with his first three clients. Junmyeon was very proud with his clients’ improvement, and he was also very proud of himself for being able to maintain a good relationship with his clients without getting too attached to them. He remembered that the girl who had – _had_. Notice the past tense? Junmyeon was still giddy over her improvement – severe anorexia nervosa was attracted to him, but he reminded her that, one, he was her psychologist and it would break the code if they had a deeper relationship, and two, he was gay and taken.

Since he was finished with the ex-soldier, Junmyeon’s consultation time with him was now Junmyeon’s lunch time. He didn’t need to bring a lunch box anymore, because he could eat with Kyungsoo and Yixing at the canteen today. But on his way to the canteen, he was stopped by a surprising and – quite frankly – unwelcomed visitor in his office.

“Kim Junmyeon. We need to talk.”

Junmyeon’s heart skipped a beat. What was Yifan’s mother doing in his office?

“Mrs. Wu.”

“I’d like you to meet someone.”

A _very_ beautiful girl with long, wavy, black hair stepped into his office. She was that type of girl who didn’t need to smile too wide to look like she was smiling. She looked Chinese, and she actually looked like someone he knew.

_No._

“This is Zhang Liyin.”

_Don’t say it._

“Yifan’s future wife.”

_Smile, Junmyeon._

“Nice to meet you, Liyin-sshi, my name is Kim Junmyeon,” Junmyeon said as he extended a hand for a handshake with a small, forced smile. Her hand was soft and so was her handshake.

“Nice to meet you too, Junmyeon-sshi,” she said with a smile that lit up her whole face. Junmyeon didn’t need to be straight to realize how beautiful she looked when she smiled.

_Why can’t she be a bitch or something, just to make hating her easier?_

“Well, Liyin, I’ll leave you here with Junmyeon-sshi, and maybe you two can get more acquainted.”

_Right. Like that’s gonna happen_ , Junmyeon thought as Mrs. Wu left his office with a smirk. Junmyeon and Liyin were then left in awkward silence.

“Um… I was just going to go get lunch…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I won’t hold you back, then, Junmyeon-sshi.”

“No, what I mean is that… if you want, let’s get some lunch together and talk.”

_What the hell did I just say?_ He cursed himself for being such a decent person.

“Um… if you don’t mind.”

Junmyeon smiled a bit to show a little bit of friendliness, and opened the door of his office and let Liyin out of his office first. They walked towards the canteen in silence. On the way, they met a couple of Liyin’s patients, and Junmyeon could see how good she was with them. He could see how friendly she was with her patients, and Junmyeon could see why Yifan’s mother would want her to be Yifan’s wife. First of all, she was female. Secondly, she looked just about a year older than Yifan. But most of all, she was a very successful dentist.

_No wonder Mrs. Wu wanted her to be her daughter-in-law. I’m nothing compared to her._

“So… I heard that you’re dating the CEO’s son?” Liyin asked him so calmly that Junmyeon almost tripped over his own feet.

“W-where did you hear that, by chance?”

“Well, my brother, Yixing, told me.”

“Oh, of course. And… I heard that you’re… supposed to marry him, right?”

“I… heard that too, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I have no interest in him, and besides, I’ve already got a boyfriend of my own.”

_Can I really not worry? I know how persistent Yifan’s mother could be…_

***

“He comes back from the dead!”

“Shut up, Yifan, you’re being dramatic.”

“Could you blame me? My boyfriend hasn’t had the time to Skype me because he’s a hot-shot at work now.”

“I’m _not_ a hot-shot at work. Don’t blame me if I get more clients than I’d like to get.”

“Aw, baby, don’t pout. You make me wanna kiss you.”

“Stop that… I miss you so much already. How’s the case going?”

“I’ve done interpreting the tests, and I’m going into court in, like, three days.”

“Ooh, my boyfriend the expert witness. Fancy.”

“It may be fancy in your eyes, but I’m shaking like a leaf already.”

“Call me before you go in, okay?”

“You know it.”

“Good luck, love. I know you’ll do great.”

“Thank you, baby. Don’t overwork yourself, you hear me? I know you have a lot of clients, but I hope you can make time to take good care of yourself too.”

“So… I’ll see you when I see you?”

“I’ll see you when I see you.”

“I love you, Yifan.”

“I love you more, Junmyeon.”

_Being in a long distance relationship sucks._

***

Now that he was introduced to Liyin, Junmyeon seemed to see her everywhere. She never really noticed her before, but now that he knew her and talked to her, she seemed to be everywhere. Junmyeon wouldn’t call it a painful sight, but she was a reminder of what he was not. Even though she told him not to worry, he couldn’t help it. He knew very well how stubborn Yifan’s mother could be, and he didn’t want Liyin’s own relationship to be on the chopping block like his already was.

The fact that he had met Yifan’s “future wife” had slipped his mind the other night. He was actually going to tell Yifan that he had met Liyin, and he thought that Liyin was a very nice woman. But nice woman or not, Junmyeon was going to try his hardest to be better than her and be accepted as Yifan’s boyfriend in the eyes of Yifan’s mother. He would never let one woman other than his mother define his whole life.

Speaking of his mother, he was shocked to see her as she walked through the doors of his office.

“Eomma?”

“Son,” she greeted Junmyeon with a smile. Junmyeon stood up from behind his desk to hug his mother.

“What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I was just from the dentist. Have you met Dr. Zhang?” she asked as he pulled away from the hug.

“I have. She’s, um… she’s Yifan’s future wife,” he said, pretending to be nonchalant about it.

“…oh, darling,” Junmyeon found himself back into his mother’s embrace. He allowed himself to nuzzle his face into her neck like a little kid; even though it hurt his neck because he needed to lean down to do so, “are you okay?”

“I think so?”

“Don’t lie to your mother, Junmyeon.”

“…no,” he said as he pulled away from his mother’s hug, “I mean, you saw her, eomma. She’s pretty, she’s smart, she’s kind, she’s successful, everyone loves her, and she’s _female_ … if you were Yifan’s mother, wouldn’t you prefer her over me?”

“Well, I’m your mother, so I would pick you over anyone.”

“Eomma…”

“Well… yes, she would make a perfect wife, but you know how I feel about marriage, Junmyeon. I believe that marriage needs to be based on love, and we don’t know if they love each other. All I know is that Yifan loves you and you love him back. But I don’t like the idea of your relationship not being approved by his mother, Junmyeon-ah… you knew what happened to your father and I. The last thing I want to happen to you is for your relationship to end up like mine.”

“Liyin-sshi told me not to worry because she’s got a relationship of her own…”

“Well, that’s good then.”

“But eomma, I know how persistent Yifan’s mother could be. I don’t want her relationship jeopardized like mine already is.”

“…”

“…I don’t know what to do, eomma. I don’t get what Yifan’s mother want from me, because all I know is that she wants me to stay away from him, but I can’t do that!”

His mother couldn’t respond to that. All she said was, “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, Junmyeon-ah.”

Junmyeon could only smile softly at his mother and hugged her once more, kissing her cheek once, “You’ve done enough, eomma. You’ve taken really great care of Jongdae and yourself after the divorce, that’s more than enough for me.”

***

“So how did the case go?”

“My work’s done now. I’ve proven the suspect doesn’t have any psychological problem, and my aunt just praised me, so life is good.”

“That’s great!”

“But now my aunt ‘forbids’ me to give treatment to the victims because she thought she overworked me.”

“Well, by looking at your dark circles, I agree with her.”

“But…!”

“You don’t like leaving your job unfinished, I know, but you really need some rest, love.”

“I know… which is why I’m coming back to Korea on Monday.”

“…you’re kidding me.”

“I’m serious!”

“Oh my God!”

“I know, right? I hope we can meet in a better circumstance, say, not on a hospital bed?”

“I hope so too. Please take care of yourself so that you won’t end up on a hospital bed when we meet.”

“Okay. So… I’ll see you when I see you?”

“I’ll see you when I see you. I love you, Yifan. I can’t wait until you arrive.”

“I love you too, Junmyeon. I can’t wait either.”

***

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon in Seoul, and if Junmyeon’s calculation was right, his boyfriend should have landed around thirty minutes ago. What irked Junmyeon the most was the fact that Yifan had yet to tell him if his plane had landed or not, and Junmyeon was sure as hell that he had already reminded Yifan thousands of times that _he needed to tell him the second he was out of the plane!_ Junmyeon was sure that he had spammed his boyfriend’s inbox with that particular message, but still he had yet to hear from him.

It started to worry Junmyeon, to be honest. The only time Yifan would do this kind of thing was if he was back for business – or when the evil giant wanted to surprise his surprise-hater-boyfriend. Junmyeon was desperately hoping for the latter to happen. Dropping his favorite mug he got as a birthday present from Yifan – when you pour hot water in it, the mug turned into a galaxy, in Yifan’s words – certainly didn’t help his restless heart.

Junmyeon decided to shake it off and departed for the hospital. He felt shivers down his spine when the bus stopped in front of the hospital and there was an ambulance right in the front of the ER entrance. He speed walked towards the ER entrance – sans an umbrella – rather than the usual main entrance to the lobby of the hospital.

“No, no, no, please, no…” Junmyeon chanted under his breath as he neared the gurney that was being rolled quickly into the ER. He hoped – God, _begged_ – to every holy deity he believed in that it was not…

_Yifan._

“Yifan? Yifan!” Junmyeon’s heart was threatening to beat out of his chest as he saw the familiar dark hair matted with blood, stuck onto the familiar, handsome face rolled on the gurney into the ER.

_This is not happening._

“Do you know him, Junmyeon-seonsaengnim?” asked one of the ER doctors, Kim Minseok, whom he met on one of his lunch times with fellow staffs.

“He-he’s…” Junmyeon took a deep breath as he saw his boyfriend, lying on a hospital bed with blood – oh God, _blood_ – pouring out of the cut on his temple, “He’s my boyfriend. His name… Wu Yifan. He’s… 24 years old. He’s our CEO’s son.”

“Mrs. Wu’s son?! Oh god… someone needs to inform the hospital chief!”

“I’ll do it, Minseok-seonsaengnim,” Junmyeon volunteered himself as he left the ER, “I trust you with him, Minseok-sshi,” Junmyeon said as he changed the honorific.

“You can count on me, Junmyeon-sshi.”

Junmyeon immediately made his way towards the elevator and pressed the number of the floor where Mrs. Wu’s office was situated. It was not exactly a long elevator ride, but Junmyeon allowed himself to start crying.

His boyfriend. _Yifan_ was on that hospital bed. Unconscious. Bleeding. Junmyeon didn’t even stop for a while to try and find out what happened to him. He couldn’t. He honestly didn’t know if he could handle it.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the right floor. He walked quickly towards Mrs. Wu’s office while trying to wipe his tears away with no avail since it kept falling. He knocked three times on Mrs. Wu’s door until he was gained entrance.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Wu-sajangnim…”

“What do you want, Kim Junmyeon?”

“I… Yifan, he’s… he’s in the ER, I think he was in an accident.”

***

After Yifan was stable and situated in a standard hospital room, Junmyeon waited for Minseok to tell him what was wrong with Yifan in his room. He could only watch helplessly from a chair right beside the door as Minseok checked his boyfriend’s vitals and his boyfriend’s mother watching from the bed side.

“Well, he’s much better now, Wu-sajangnim. His head suffered a pretty nasty blow, which is why he’s yet to be conscious. He’s got cuts and bruises all around his body, but he suffers no internal damage, fortunately. Now all we can do is just wait for him to wake up on his own.”

“Thank you, Minseok-seonsaengnim.”

Minseok bowed towards Yifan’s mother and Junmyeon, with Junmyeon bowing back in his sitting position. Minseok then left the room, leaving Junmyeon and Mrs. Wu in a pretty awkward silence, only a constant beeping sound to tell them that Yifan was alive and well, just unconscious.

“I believe you have some clients to attend to, Junmyeon-seonsaengnim?”

Junmyeon was a little bit taken aback. Mrs. Wu never called him “seonsaengnim” before. This event must have shocked her more than he thought.

“But…”

“Junmyeon-seonsaengnim, we may have our differences, but we share the same thing: we both love and care for Yifan. I think I have an idea about how worried you are, but you have a responsibility as a staff of this hospital, and as a psychologist.”

“…I will take my leave then, sajangnim,” Junmyeon said as he stood up, “…not that I think that you won’t, but… please take care of him.”

“Seonsaengnim, I am his mother. That goes without saying.”

“Okay, then… I will be back later when I have time,” Junmyeon said as he bowed towards Yifan’s mother, and left the room without giving the woman time to reply his statement.

Truth be told, he contemplated taking a sick day because since he woke up, he already had a bad feeling about that day. He was so disengaged and messed up in the head that day, that he wasn’t sure if he could hear someone else’s problems when he was so preoccupied by himself?

But Mrs. Wu had a point. He was a psychologist. He was a social service worker who could make a change in people’s lives. And Mrs. Wu was his boss, so as much as he wanted to defy her, he needed to do his work, if not for Mrs. Wu, then for the sake of his clients.

So Junmyeon dried his tears, washed his face, and smiled as sincere as he could as his first client stepped into the consultation room.

It was going to be a very long day.

But the second he gained a free time, Junmyeon left his office and made his way towards the other end of the hospital towards Yifan’s room. He cursed the fact that the room was quite far from his office, so he couldn’t spend too much time there since he still had two more clients to go, but he was quite relieved that the room was on the same floor. When he arrived at the room, he saw Minseok and his boyfriend, Luhan, bringing two bouquets of flower each into the room. Junmyeon entered the room with the two doctors and saw that Mrs. Wu was still in the room.

“Oh, seonsaengnim-deul. Who are those flowers from?”

“Um… the police found these bouquets from Yifan-sshi’s car on the passenger seat, and I think it’s for you, sajangnim,” Minseok said as he handed over a bouquet of red carnation to Mrs. Wu, “and the other one is for Junmyeon-seonsaengnim,” Luhan then gave a bouquet of white roses with a single red rose in the middle to Junmyeon and both of them bowed at Mrs. Wu and Junmyeon, and left the room.

Junmyeon flipped open the card that he found attached to the ribbon that was holding the bouquet together, and felt his eyes tearing up at the message.

> _Junmyeon-ah,_
> 
> _I was going to send this to you from Canada, but I was afraid the flower would wilt the second it reached you, so I decided to get them fresh._
> 
> _You’re surprised, right?_
> 
> _‘I miss you.’ That’s what the white roses mean._
> 
> _And of course, you know what one red rose means._
> 
> _I miss you, and I love you, Junmyeon-ah_
> 
> _I’ll see you when I see you_
> 
> _Yifan_

“You’re an idiot…” Junmyeon whispered as he looked at the immobile figure on the bed, a tear running down his face. He sneaked a peek at Yifan’s mother, and she was in a pretty much similar state as he was, with tears streaming down her face.

“…he knows how much you love him, sajangnim.”

“…I know. Red carnation means a mother’s eternal love. I taught him everything he knew about flower languages.”

“…”

“…and he seems to love you very much… Junmyeon-sshi,” Mrs. Wu said as she stood up from her seat and left the room. Junmyeon widened his eyes at the statement, but he never looked at her direction. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but maybe, just maybe, Mrs. Wu could finally see how they really feel about each other.

***

Before he knew it, Yifan was already unconscious for three days and two nights. Junmyeon spent those two nights at the hospital, sleeping on Yifan’s bedside after he was finished with all of his clients and waking up with a blanket over his body, every morning. He figured a nurse, or maybe Minseok, must have covered him up while he was sleeping. He kept expecting Yifan’s eyes to be opened or at least move just a little bit under his eyelids, but nothing.

Jongin and Jongdae, who heard from Sehun, who heard from his mother about Yifan’s condition, came every morning with a change of clothes and some food for Junmyeon. They knew their oldest brother quite well to know that he would be so worried sick that he would never think about showering or eating.

Junmyeon went on a routine for those two days: wake up, fold the blanket and set it on the chair he sat on, kiss Yifan’s forehead, go to the locker room, shower in the locker room, get changed into something different than what he was wearing the other day, trained how to smile genuinely in front of the mirror, and then go meet the first client of the day. At lunch, he would bring the food his brothers brought him and eat it in Yifan’s room, with or without Mrs. Wu, and watch his boyfriend and beg to God that his boyfriend would wake soon.

It was different that day.

Junmyeon almost dropped his lunchbox when he saw Minseok examining Yifan, who was _sitting up_ on his bed.

“Yifan?”

Yifan, Minseok, and Mrs. Wu – whom Junmyeon didn’t notice was there – looked his way when he called out his boyfriend’s name. Yifan smiled at his boyfriend weakly.

Yifan was smiling. He was sitting up. He was _awake_.

Junmyeon had half the mind to put – more like throw – his lunchbox towards a chair right next to the door before he launched towards Yifan. Minseok was out of his way right before Junmyeon attached himself to Yifan. Junmyeon didn’t care who saw, but he let himself cry in Yifan’s arms out of relief. Junmyeon may or may not cry harder when he felt Yifan’s arms wrap around his torso.

“You broke your own promise,” Junmyeon said.

“Hmm?”

“You said we should meet somewhere other than a hospital bed, but here you are.”

“Sorry…”

“Don’t be, you idiot,” Junmyeon said as he pulled away from the hug. He wiped his tear-streaked cheeks as he helped Yifan lay back down on the bed and then kissed Yifan’s forehead, “I got your flowers.”

“You did?”

“They’re beautiful.”

“That’s good.”

“I miss you and love you too, by the way,” Junmyeon said as he ran his hand through Yifan’s hair, “It’s horrifying to think that your hair was actually stuck together with blood just a couple of days ago…”

“My hair?”

“Yeah.”

“God, and I spent a long time washing it too. I was getting it to smell nice for you.”

“As long as you’re alive and well, I don’t care how your hair smells.”

Their banter went on so naturally that they actually forgot that Minseok and Yifan’s mother was in the same room. But the other two people couldn’t help themselves but smile at the couple – even Yifan’s mother.

“Minseok-seonsaengnim, can you leave me with my son and Junmyeon-seonsaengnim, please?” Yifan’s mother suddenly said. Minseok bowed at Mrs. Wu, Junmyeon, and Yifan, in that order, and received a bow back from them. Junmyeon wouldn’t lie and say that he was not nervous to hear those words come out of Mrs. Wu’s mouth. Whenever the three of them were in the same room, it never ended on a good note.

“Junmyeon-sshi… I would like to apologize for how I’ve treated you all this time. I think… I’ve always seen how in love with each other both of you are, but I’ve been turning a blind eye on it. I’ve noticed that you have been losing sleep and missing meals waiting on Yifan, Junmyeon-sshi… I checked my son’s room every night to see you sleeping beside him, and for some reason, I feel like he’s safe in your hands.”

“So… you’re the one who’s been putting the blanket on me those nights?”

Mrs. Wu only smiled at that. Junmyeon was quite stunned by her beauty when she smiles – she was already a beautiful woman to begin with. All these time, he could only see her either frowning at him or smirking – that was as close to a smile as he could get.

“I have to admit that I’ve told Yixing-seonsaengnim to give you more clients than you should’ve gotten, but I am impressed by how you handled those clients. They’ve sung your praises and I can’t believe that you managed to maintain your professionalism even after your loved one was hurt. I was actually waiting for a complaint from one of your clients, but I’ve received none. You have been an exceptional staff member, Junmyeon-sshi, and you know how I feel about hard workers, Yifan.”

“I do, lǎo mā.”

“There is just one thing I don’t like about you, Junmyeon-sshi.”

Junmyeon flinched at the words.

“I don’t like the fact that you’re skipping meals.”

“I don’t like it too,” Yifan suddenly said. Junmyeon hit his arm to shut him up.

“Every meal is important, as well as a good amount of sleep. And I know that you’re low on both nutrition and sleep, and that is unacceptable. Especially if you are going to be my son one day.”

“Mrs. Wu…” Junmyeon said with his eyes wide. Mrs. Wu only smile and turned her vision towards her son.

“Yifan, son, I… am so sorry. I never listened to you. I’ve been so hung up on the idea of you marrying a beautiful woman of my choice, without even caring about how you really feel. Those flowers you gave him… say everything. I’ve done wrong, and I’m sorry.”

Junmyeon couldn’t believe his ears. Something he had always wanted to happen was actually happening. Mrs. Wu had accepted him, both as a psychologist, and as Yifan’s boyfriend.

“But… lǎo mā, what about Liyin?”

“I’ll call the arranged marriage off; yours and Shixun’s. You don’t have to worry about them, son.”

Junmyeon squeezed Yifan’s arm and walked towards Mrs. Wu and held her hand. _She had soft hands_ , Junmyeon absentmindedly thought.

“Mrs. Wu… this is a formal request… to have your son’s hand in marriage. Do you accept me?” Junmyeon asked her with his heart almost bursting out of his chest. He was so nervous. Mrs. Wu looked down to her hands that were held by Junmyeon, and released his grip on her hands. Junmyeon almost looked crestfallen, but Mrs. Wu caught his wrists before he could pull away.

“Call me lǎo mā, son.”

***

“I’m so nervous. This is ridiculous. Should I be this nervous?”

“How would I know, I’ve never been married before. Hyung, please stop pacing.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You and Baekhyun are practically a married couple already.”

As what Jongdae said, Junmyeon was pacing around the dressing room of a wedding hall in Jeju Island. It was his wedding day.

“Hyung, you love Yifan-hyung, don’t you?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t want to marry him if I don’t!”

“Are you sure Yifan-hyung loves you?”

“I think so?”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“I mean, he could always leave me at the altar. Or maybe an unknown ex-girlfriend would interrupt our wedding and take him away. Or maybe said ex-girlfriend would go nuts and kill everyone in the hall!”

“Hyung! You watched too many dramas; those things are not going to happen!”

Junmyeon and Jongdae were too invested in their so-called argument that they didn’t realize that Jongin and Kyungsoo were already standing at the door frame of the room.

“Junmyeon-hyung… I think they’re ready for you.”

“ _I’m_ not ready for them! Oh god, what should I do?!”

“Junmyeon-ah.” A voice that was quite familiar but not as familiar as before called out his name. Junmyeon “turned off” his “panic mode” and met the eyes of his father.

“Appa…”

“Jongin-ah, Kyungsoo-yah, Jongdae-yah, can you guys leave us alone?”

“They’re asking for him already…”

“Just five minutes, Jongin-ah. Please.”

Junmyeon’s younger brothers (and maybe future brother-in-law? Junmyeon loved that Kyungsoo and Jongin never really stopped holding each other’s hands after the younger man confessed just around five days ago) left the room half-heartedly. Junmyeon was nervous before, but being left in a room with just his almost estranged father made him even more nervous. After his parents’ divorce, Junmyeon left the blame on his father and never talked to him ever since then. But with Yifan and Jongin’s help, he managed to reconcile with his father just in time to get him to come to Junmyeon and Yifan’s wedding.

“Junmyeon-ah… maybe I’m not the best person to give you a speech on love, but I’m going to do it anyway. What happened to your mother and I, it’s never going to happen with you and Yifan. You and Yifan had something your mother and I didn’t have when we were married: you both love each other, while I was forced to marry your mother. I think, if you have no intention of leaving Yifan, he won’t leave you.”

“…how are you so sure about it, though?”

“That’s just a risk you’re going to have to take. Nothing is set in stone, so anything can change whenever.”

“…”

“Now, can I walk my son down the aisle?”

Junmyeon took a deep breath and exhaled it. He then smiled nervously at his father and nodded. Junmyeon’s father extended his elbow towards Junmyeon, and Junmyeon linked his arm with his father’s.

It was time.

As the big door was opened, Junmyeon could see Yifan at the end of the aisle, standing under an arch of white and red roses to represent unity with a minister. Yixing and Sehun stood on Yifan’s side as best men, and Jongin, Jongdae, and Kyungsoo was on his side as his best men. Liyin – whom Junmyeon got closer to after the arranged marriage was annulled – was singing on a podium.

All of a sudden, all Junmyeon could hear was his heart beating really loudly in his ears; all Junmyeon could see was how handsome Yifan was in his black tux; all Junmyeon could smell was roses as he neared the aisle; all Junmyeon could feel was nothing, as his father had already let his arm go.

But then Yifan held his hand, and all the colors seemed more vibrant. The smell of roses was attacking his nostrils. He could hear Liyin’s soft voice singing the end of a song. He could actually feel Yifan’s sweaty hands in his – as disgusting as it was, it was comforting to know that his almost-husband was as nervous as he was.

“Dearly beloved…”

Junmyeon blocked the words that came out of the minister’s mouth. He and Yifan actually heaved a sigh of relief that no one interrupted their wedding. As the rings were slipped into their respective ring fingers, and before they sealed their vows with a kiss, the last sentence of their vows – second only to ‘I love you’ – was, “I’ll see you when I see you.”

Yifan’s mother loved Junmyeon’s performance in the hospital too much, it seemed, that she would not let Junmyeon move to Vancouver and live with Yifan, and Yifan’s aunt already had more cases for Yifan to work on after they came back from their honeymoon.

It may be a long-distance marriage, but they had nothing to worry about since they trust each other that they would still love each other no matter where they were, and that they would eventually be able to live together somewhere, someday.

For now, they would see each other when they see each other.


End file.
